1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method for connection between electronic devices and, more particularly, to a discovery method used in connecting electronic devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a space such as a school, an office, a conference room, a restaurant, a house, etc., electronic devices equipped with a wireless connection function, such as, for example, smartphones, tablets, or computers, are connected with one another over a short distance. These wireless devices share services for education or a conference, and share related materials or multimedia files with one another through the connection. The connection between the electronic devices may be provided by using a discovery protocol.
The discovery protocol includes a universal plug and play (uPnP) used in digital living network alliance (DLNA). The uPnP performs discovery among the electronic devices by using a user datagram protocol (UDP) multicast. In discovery methods implemented using an application program rather than a standard protocol, most of the electronic devices may inform of their existence or may discover other electronic devices existing on a current network by using the UDP multicast or broadcast.
When the UDP multicast or broadcast is not used, a server-based discovery method may be used. Each electronic device enters a network, executes an application, and performs a registering procedure with a corresponding server. When another electronic device enters the network, the electronic device may receive a list of currently registered users from the corresponding server and may recognize the existence electronic devices.
The discovery procedure is performed in an environment in which all electronic devices and the server are connected to an access point (AP) of the same network. If even one electronic device connects to another AP, the discovery procedure may fail.
In addition, when hundreds or thousands of electronic devices are connected to one another, as in a school or an office, and the discovery procedure is performed using the UDP multicast or broadcast, packets are transmitted to all of the electronic devices, and thus, the network may be overloaded. In particular, the multicast or broadcast packets are not smoothly received due to the overload in the wireless network environment, and thus, the discovery procedure may fail. In addition, some network configurations or equipment may not support the multicast.
Further, when using the server-based discovery method, the discovery may be impossible when the server is suddenly down. In addition, when the server is accessed by many people at the same time, a response of the server may be delayed and the discovery procedure may fail. Additionally, there may be a limitation in establishing the server due to technical or cost problems.